The present invention relates to a heat sink, in particular for use with electronic components.
At present, electronic components and the related circuits have reached high levels of operating reliability and precision, so much so that they are used in the most disparate technological fields both as major components (see the common Personal Computers), and to integrate and support apparatuses ranging from control systems for welding machines, to command and control systems for automated machines, to regulating systems for the proper operation of engines, etc.
Usually such electronic circuits essentially comprise a mother board whereon are pre-printed connecting circuits for pluralities of electronic components, which are arranged or in turn connected to the mother board, with the whole set enclosed in a chassis.
In combination with one or more of such components--which we usually define as processors--a related heat sink is used which allows to dissipate the heat generated by the steady state operation of the components themselves which, as is well known, require controlled operating temperatures. Such heat sinks generally comprise a first portion destined to be in contact with the related electronic component and a second portion shaped to present a plurality of fins able to favour better heat dissipation.
To couple the electronic component and the heat sink in such a way as to allow for an optimal contact of the related surfaces, various solutions are currently in existence, studied also according to the internal structure (mother board and component) and to the external structure (chassis) of the apparatuses.
Currently, the most widely employed provide for the use of an elastic element acting on the electronic component to press it against the first portion of the heat sink: the patent EP-622.983 shows one of these solutions, where the elastic element holding the electronic component comprises a metal platelet fastened, at one of its ends, to a wall of the chassis by means of a screw, whilst the development of the platelet is such that one of its portions is in contact with the electronic component which in turn is stably interposed between the platelet itself and the appropriate surface of the first portion of the heat sink.
Another known solution is to apply the elastic holding element (in practice a spring) directly onto the aforesaid first portion of the heat sink: in this case a recess or a seat is obtained on the upper part of the first portion, wherein is stably fastened one end of the elastic element; the latter is shaped in such a way as to present its active portion in contact with the component opposite to the lower part of the first portion of the heat sink.
The first of the solutions described above presents the drawback stemming from the mounting complexity due to the need to fasten the elastic platelet with a screw which cannot always be positioned close to the component and to the heat sink, making it necessary to apply platelets which are long, bulky, and not always reliable in holding the component, in addition to requiring fastening operations which are not always easy to perform in structures of extremely reduced size.
The second solution described presents a reduced size of the dissipator--holding spring--component set with respect to the previous solution, but its clasping system is not very reliable and mounting the spring on the dissipator is awkward; moreover, the first portion of the heat sink has to be enlarged in order to obtain the seat for fastening the spring, thus decreasing the useful surface area for heat dissipation.